ABSTRACT
Kita Boruneo (Northern Borneo) under the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), and Minami Boruneo (Southern Borneo) administered by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), shared similarities in some aspects of governance but at the same time there were apparent differences in other areas. While the former had a military government (Gunseibu) the latter possessed a civilian administration (Minseibu). Although IJN-controlled Southern Borneo was regarded as a permanent possession, an integral part of the Imperial Japanese Empire, there was no similar agenda for Northern Borneo under the IJA. Therefore the extent to which this long-term retention plan impacted on governance could be observed in a comparative evaluation between the two territories, with their respective administrative machinery. Although the wartime occupation was brief, slightly more than three and a half years, there were long-term effects on the various ethnic communities, particularly on their consciousness, identity, worldviews and self-interests.
